Amid all that happened with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, the subsequent social media reaction, and the arrest of his alleged shooter, Luigi Mangione, a video footage of UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty allegedly telling his employees that the insurance company would continue to deny any "unnecessary" healthcare claims and continue the legacy of Brian Thompson has surfaced on social media.
In the video footage posted online by independent Journalist, Ken Klippenstein, the CEO Andrew Witty, while addressing the staff said,
"There is nobody who did more to try and advance that mission than Brian Thompson. And there are very few people in the history of the U.S. healthcare industry who had a bigger positive effect on American healthcare than Brian(...)We guard against the pressures that exist for unsafe care or for unnecessary care to be delivered in a way which makes the whole system too complex and ultimately unsustainable."
The leaked footage and Witty's use of the term "unnecessary care" earned him severe backlash on social media, with some comments even wishing him to be the next victim. Some of the comments are as follows,
"Better keep checkin' his six, then," an X user reacted to Witty's words
"UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty should follow Brian Thompson in other ways," X user/@Gritty20202 commented.
"Looks like someone volunteered to be next," said another X user in regards to his statement.
An X user also expressed her frustration at his use of the term "unnecessary care"
“Unnecessary care” Like that pesky anesthesia. “Unnecessary care” Like that chemo you need for cancer “Unnecessary care” Is anything their AI declines"
UnitedHealthcare Group CEO Andrew Witty asks employees to tune out the criticisms.
In the leaked video, Witty also asked the staff to tune out the criticism they see on social media because it is in tune with reality but characteristic of the eerie age.
The criticism Andrew Witty is possibly referring to is the celebratory reactions and other comments that social media users have made over the past weeks after Brian Thomson was shot to death.
After Brian's murder, his shooter, alleged to be Luigi Mangione, was celebrated as a hero like Robinhood. Many internet users have observed that this could be due to the working class's frustration towards the American insurance companies for allegedly denying many people, what they deem, necessary health care.
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Another section of social media users on X believes that even if people feel disappointed by how American health insurance systems work, violence is not the answer. Many also took to social media to condemn the ones celebrating/justifying Brian Thompson's death.
Brian Thompson was shot to death on December 4, 2024, while he was in New York for an annual UnitedHealthcare investors meeting. On December 9, 2024, a suspect, Luigi Mangione was arrested after a McDonald's worker called the cops because of suspicion.
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